Per Brian Alvarez
The Punk/Perry skirmish
Shortly after the Punk vs. Samoa Joe match to kick off the pay-per-view, a story emerged that
Punk and Perry had got into some altercation backstage prior to Punk going out for his match. Perry had already wrestled on the pre-show match against Hook and made a comment about "real glass. Cry me a river." to the camera during the match when they were fighting on and around a car.
The comment was a reference to a story that emerged recently about a spot Perry wanted to do with real glass on Collision
that Punk nixed for several reported reasons.
Alvarez said it was described to him that Perry was backstage Sunday having cuts worked on following getting dropped on the car's windshield during the match when Punk walked over to him and asked if Perry had a problem with him.
Perry said something to the effect of "Well, you heard what I said out there." According to several people, Punk said something to the effect of, "You know I can beat your ***, right?" There was a quick incident and nearly 100% of people Alvarez spoke with say Punk made the comment and either shoved or pie-faced Perry and then put him in a guillotine headlock.
It was immediately broken up soon after. They got close enough to Tony Khan, who was in the gorilla position, that monitors were apparently knocked down onto Khan. Alvarez said that unlike the brawl following All Out, there were a lot of witnesses to this all happening including Khan himself.
Alvarez said that Punk was furious about the situation and several people said he threatened to quit and didn't want to go out for his match against Samoa Joe which caused a delay. Alvarez said he heard that resulted in AEW personnel going to FTR and The Young Bucks about opening the show, but they weren't ready to do so. AEW went to the participants in The Golden Elite vs. Bullet Club Gold/Konosuke Takeshita trios bout and they said they could do it if needed.
Alvarez said he was told Joe was furious and apparently talked Punk into doing the match.
Miro
Afterward, there was apparently another near-incident when Punk came through the curtain. Miro went up to Punk and asked about what happened with Perry. Punk then asked if he had a problem with him now which resulted in an argument. Punk asked if Miro wanted to step outside, but the situation didn't escalate into anything and Punk headed to the trainer's room. After the report Tuesday, both Nick Hausman and PWInsider had denials that altercation happened.
All Out status
Per Dave Meltzer,
Punk and Perry are suspended pending the results of an investigation into the matter. It's possible both men will work Sunday's All Out if the investigation is cleared by then, but Alvarez was told yesterday from the Warner Bros. Discovery side that they were told Punk was indeed suspended and off Sunday's pay-per-view.
Alvarez said that most people think Punk will be back in AEW, but there are a handful of those who think he's done and has had enough. It isn't clear how the situation will play out.
The Collision glass spot
Regarding the aforementioned glass spot, Alvarez said that according to Perry's side of things, it was approved by AEW while he was at a Dynamite episode to the point he rented a car for the spot. According to Perry's side, Punk said no because of Perry's friendship with the Young Bucks.
Alvarez said the argument about the glass spot was known within the company for weeks prior to when it first came out. Alvarez again told the story he had heard about Perry having a vacation planned and that he wasn't trying to get out of working the next week as had been reported was the feeling from Punk.
London travel woes
A story emerged on Monday that Punk found himself with no AEW-provided transportation when he arrived in London on Saturday morning and that when he called a driver that was supposed to be there, the number didn't work.
He eventually took the Tube (train) and had to get the assistance of some fans to find where he was going which was supported by some pictures that found their way to Reddit.
Alvarez said there are two versions to this story as well. One is that Punk arrived and couldn't get ahold of anyone and decided to take the train. The other version is that he did get in touch with someone and either they asked or he offered to take the train. He was fine with it and then once he was on the train, he got lost."
It's unknown why he didn't take a cab or an Uber, but Alvarez noted it was difficult for most people, including himself, to get an Uber during the weekend.
He liked anti-Punk tweet yesterday and many in the past. The guy removed the Young Bucks header off his Twitter profile yesterday as well. Along with this his "AEW Travel Coordinator" role off his Twitter profile. Hopefully they hire a grown up -- and not one of the Young Bucks buddies -- for the role in the future.
